Shelf-type display fixture

ABSTRACT

A display fixture for displaying an object, such as bound media, includes a base having a shelf engaging portion that mounts to an underside of a shelf, a brush support portion and a brush having an elongated spine. The elongated spine is received by the brush support portion and a plurality of flexible bristles that depend downwardly from the elongated spine. The distal ends of the plurality of flexible bristles are free from contacting the base, and when not engaged with the object, the flexible bristles are oriented substantially normal to the shelf.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/542,859, filed Jul. 6, 2013, the content ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

In retail stores, merchandise is often displayed on shelves that aresupported by display units, such as gondola display units. Exemplarymerchandise displayed on shelves includes binders, books and otherindividual products that are best displayed standing in an upwarddirection for easy identification and orderly presentation.

The discussion above is merely provided for general backgroundinformation and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining thescope of the claimed subject matter.

SUMMARY

A display fixture for displaying an object includes a base having ashelf engaging portion that mounts to an underside of a shelf, a brushsupport portion and a brush having an elongated spine. The elongatedspine is received by the brush support portion and a plurality offlexible bristles that depend downwardly from the elongated spine.Distal ends of the plurality of flexible bristles are free fromcontacting the base, and when not engaged with the object, the flexiblebristles are oriented substantially normal to the shelf.

A method includes providing the display fixture that includes a brushhaving an elongated spine that is slid into a brush support portion of abase. The brush includes a plurality of flexible bristles that dependdownwardly from the elongated spine. A shelf engaging portion of thebase is mounted to an underside of a first shelf. At least one object isplaced on a second shelf located directly below the first shelf. A topof the at least one object engages with distal ends of the plurality offlexible bristles.

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subjectmatter. The claimed subject matter is not limited to implementationsthat solve any or all disadvantages noted in the background.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a display fixture coupled to anunderside of a shelf according to one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a back perspective view of a top of a display fixtureaccording to one embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of a bottom of the display fixtureillustrated in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the display fixture illustrated in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of assembling the display fixtureillustrated in FIGS. 2-4.

FIG. 6 is a section view of the display fixture illustrated in FIG. 2taken through the line indicated in FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is an exploded section view of the display fixture illustrated inFIG. 2 taken through the line indicated in FIG. 4.

FIG. 8 is a back exploded view of a display fixture according to anotherembodiment.

FIG. 9 is a section view of the mounting bracket illustrated in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a top view of the mounting bracket illustrated in FIG. 8.

FIG. 11 is a front view of the mounting bracket illustrated in FIG. 11.

FIG. 12 is a profile view of the display fixture in FIG. 8 as assembled.

FIG. 13 is a section view of the brush illustrated in FIG. 8.

FIG. 14 is a front view of the display fixture illustrated in FIG. 2coupled to an underside of a shelf and engaged with objects or productsfor display.

FIG. 15A is a perspective view of mounting the display fixtureillustrated in FIG. 2 to an underside of a shelf of a gondola displayunit.

FIG. 15B is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of FIG. 15A.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of mounting the display fixtureillustrated in FIG. 2 to an underside of a shelf of the gondola displayunit illustrated in FIG. 15A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The display fixture described below aids in the display of objects orproducts located on a shelf or shelves. Exemplary objects or productsinclude bound media, such as binders, books, periodicals, cases andother mechanisms for amassing and housing storage media. The displayfixture includes a base that is mounted to an underside of a shelflocated above the shelf where objects or products are placed. The basealso includes a brush support portion. A brush having an elongated spineis received by the brush support portion and a plurality of flexiblebristles depend downwardly from the elongated spine. The flexiblebristles engage with or interfere with a top or an upper portion of theobjects or products to provide lateral, or side-to-side, support and tohold the objects or products in an upward or substantially verticalorientation. However, when select flexible bristles are not engaged withobjects or products, distal ends of those select flexible bristles areoriented substantially normal to the shelf.

The brush enables the objects or products that are to be displayed to bepushed through the flexible bristles to facilitate insertion and removalof the objects or products from the shelf. Tipping forces acting on theobjects or products are controlled by the resilience of the bristles.Since the bristles are generally smaller and closer together than thepertinent dimensions of the objects or products that are being displayedand the bristles are disposed along a row placed laterally with respectto the shelf or shelves, the brush results in an infinitely adaptablearrangement to engage a wide variety of objects or products without theneed for adjustment. Since shelving systems or units are generallyadjustable along a vertical axis, the only adjustment that may be neededis the vertical spacing between the shelf upon which the objects orproducts are placed and the shelf located directly above, which supportsthe base of the display fixture. Where the vertical shelf spacing on ashelving system or unit is incremental, such as one-inch adjustmentsteps, a length of the bristles can be selected to ensure that there canalways be interference with the objects or products. For example, thebristles may have a length of 1.5 inches, or at least a length greaterthan the incremental step of the shelving system, which in this exampleis one inch.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a display fixture 10 coupled to anunderside of a shelf 20 according to one embodiment. While FIG. 1illustrates two floating shelves 20 and 22, where shelf 20 supportsdisplay fixture 10 and shelf 22 supports objects or products 24, itshould be realized that shelves 20 and 22 can be connected to afree-standing gondola display unit as can be found in a retail store orconnected to a bookcase or other free-standing furnishings that supportsshelves in other environments. For example, other environments, besidesretail stores, that can advantageously utilize display fixture 10include public libraries, home libraries, offices, museums and etc. Asis often the problem with bound media, when space on a shelf next tobound media is open or empty, the bound media has the tendency to fallover on its side because of its inability to support itself in anupright position without the aid of the adjacent bound media or of abookend. This problem can occur frequently in any of the aboveenvironments especially in retail stores where bound media is frequentlytaken off the shelves for inspection or purchase. As illustrated in FIG.1, display fixture 10 supports objects or products 24 in an uprightposition even though there are empty spaces next to objects or products24.

FIG. 2 is a back, top perspective view of a display fixture 100according to one embodiment. FIG. 3 is a front, bottom perspective viewof display fixture 100. FIG. 4 is an exploded view of display fixture100. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of assembling the display fixtureillustrated in FIGS. 2-4. FIG. 6 is a section view of display fixture100 taken through the line indicated in FIG. 2. FIG. 7 is an explodedsection view of display fixture 100 taken through the line indicated inFIG. 4.

Display fixture 100 includes a base or mounting bracket 106 and a brushor tool 108. Base 106 is an extruded part made of, for example, apolymer, such as polystyrene. However, base or mount 106 can be made ofother types of material that can be extruded, such as metal. In oneembodiment, base 106 includes a shelf engaging portion or horizontalsection 110, a downward depending portion or vertical section 112 and abrush support portion or channel 114. Shelf engaging portion 110 issubstantially planar except for a plurality of ribs 120 and is connectedto brush support portion or channel 114 by downward depending portion112. Downward depending portion 112 is substantially planar and issubstantially normal to shelf engaging portion 110.

In one embodiment, brush 108 includes an elongated spine or base 116 anda plurality of bristles or filaments 118. Elongated spine or base 116acts as the brush block that holds the plurality of bristles orfilaments 118 together. For example, elongated spine 116 can include apolymer that uses adhesives to secure the bristles 118 together.Bristles or filaments 118 can be made of natural or synthetic fibers.For example, bristles or filaments 118 can be made of nylon orpolyester.

Shelf engaging portion 110 of base 106 is mountable to an underside of ashelf, such as underside 25 (FIG. 1) of shelf 20 and elongated spine 116is receivable by brush support portion or channel 114 by, for example,elongated spine 116 being inserted into or slid into channel 114 fromone of the ends of channel 114. As illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, channel114 includes and is defined by an upper wall 122, a front wall 124, arear wall 126 and a lower wall 128. Rear wall 126 is in alignment withand is connected to downward depending portion 112, while front wall 124is spaced forward from downward depending portion 112 by upper wall 122and lower wall 128. Channel 114 includes an opening 130 in lower wall128 that extends along a length 132 (FIG. 3) of channel 114.

Lower wall 128 includes a depth or dimension 134. Dimension 134 is thedistance from back edge of downward depending portion 112 to a frontedge of front wall 124 of channel 114. Opening 130 includes a depth ordimension 136 that is less than dimension 134 of lower wall 128. Asdescribed above, elongated spine 116 is received by channel 114.Therefore, bristles 118 of brush 108 depend downwardly from elongatedspine 116 through opening 130 in lower wall 128 of channel 114 andterminate at distal ends 119. In this way, bristles 118 extenddownwardly from base or mounting bracket 106 to engage with portions ofthe objects or product that display fixture 100 is to support in anupward or vertical orientation. More specifically, distal ends 119 ofbristles 118 are free from contacting base or mounting bracket 106. Whenbristles 118 are not engaged with objects or products, bristles 118 areoriented substantially normal to shelf 20 or shelf engaging portion 110.When engaged with objects or products, distal ends 119 of bristles 118still do not contact base or mounting bracket 106. However, when engagedwith objects or products, portions of bristles 118 can be oriented inother directions besides being oriented substantially normal to shelf200 or shelf engaging portion 110 as is illustrated by display fixture10 in FIG. 1.

With reference back to base or mounting bracket 106 and as previouslydescribed, shelf engaging portion or horizontal section 110 includes aplurality of ribs 120. In one embodiment and as illustrated in FIGS.2-7, shelf engaging portion or horizontal section 110 includes two ribs120. In other embodiments, shelf engaging portion or horizontal section110 can include any number of ribs 120. Ribs 120 provide shelf engagingportion 110 with structural rigidity and strength and minimum materialthickness. Although display fixture 100 does not support product loads,display fixture 100 needs to have high structural rigidity to withstandother types of forces, such as torsion. Ribs 120 are spaced apart fromeach other and run a length of shelf engaging portion 110.

In the embodiment in FIGS. 2-7 and specifically illustrated in FIG. 2,shelf engaging portion 110 includes two lengths 138 and 140. The smallerlength 138 is located at the front of display fixture 100 and the largerlength 140 is located at the back of display fixture 100. In otherwords, shelf engaging portion 110 includes two cutouts on the front ofshelf engaging portion 110. The two cutouts are included in shelfengaging portion 110 so that shelf engaging portion 110 does not blockholes in the shelf at the ends of the shelf. This way other hardware orfixturing can be used, such as a wire divider, without shelf engagingportion 110 being in the way. In particular, length 140 is substantiallythe same as length 132 of channel 114. One of the ribs 120 is locatedwithin length 138 of shelf engaging portion 110 and the other of theribs 120 is located within length 140 of shelf engaging portion 110. Inthis way, the ribs 120 do not extend for the same length, but extend theentire length of shelf engaging portion 110 whether that length islength 138 or length 140. As illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, each rib 120forms a concave depression relative to a top surface 142 of shelfengaging portion 110 Likewise, each rib 120 forms a convex bump relativeto a bottom surface 144 of shelf engaging portion 110.

FIG. 5 illustrates mounting bracket 106 and brush 108 being assembledtogether. In FIG. 5, the elongated brush 108 is inserted into anextrusion channel in the mounting bracket 106. The two units slidetogether to form an integrated brush assembly prior to attaching to ashelving system.

Further and as illustrated in FIG. 6, shelf engaging portion 110includes a depth 145. Together downward depending portion 112 and brushsupport portion 114 includes a height 147 and between distal ends 119 ofbristles 118 and a bottom of brush support portion 114 includes adistance 149. In one embodiment, depth 145 of shelf engaging portion 110is about 3.75 inches, height 147 of downward depending portion 112 andbrush support portion 114 is approximately 1.44 inches and distance 149between the bottom of brush support portion 114 and distal ends 119 ofbristles 118 is about 1.25 inches. Therefore, the distance from theunderside of a shelf that shelf engaging portion 110 is mounted todistal ends 119 of bristles 118 must be great enough so that distal ends119 of bristles 118 are lower than a top edge of the objects or productsto which it is to engage. In one embodiment, this dimension is about2.69 inches given the recited dimensions of height 147 and distance 149.However, this dimension can be other values as long as the distal ends119 of bristles 118 engage with a top end of bound media.

Shelf engaging portion 110 also includes a plurality of apertures 146 asillustrated in FIGS. 2-5. Each aperture 146 is configured to receive afastener for mounting shelf engaging portion or horizontal section 110to the underside of a shelf. Performing the step of mounting will bedescribed in detail below.

FIG. 8 is an exploded view of a display fixture 200 according to anotherembodiment. FIG. 9 is a section view of base or mounting bracket 206 ofdisplay fixture 200. FIG. 10 is a top view and FIG. 11 is a front viewof mounting bracket 206 of display fixture 200. FIG. 12 is a profileview of display fixture 200 and FIG. 13 is a section view of brush 108.Display fixture 200 includes a mounting bracket 206 and a brush 208. Theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 8 shows that bracket 206 is elongated andhas plural mounting slots 246 used to attach it to a shelf.

With reference to FIG. 9, bracket 206 is a plastic extrusion. It isgenerally a right-angled bracket having a horizontal portion 210 and avertical portion 212. Horizontal portion 210 is attached to theunderside of a shelf using a slot 246 in bracket 206. Slot 246 islocated in a recessed portion 247 that provides clearance for fasteners.At the lower end of vertical portion 212 is a brush channel 214 formedfor receiving spine 216 of elongated brush 208 (illustrated in FIGS. 8,12 and 13). The length of bracket 206 is generally coextensive with thewidth of a shelf to which bracket 206 is to be attached.

FIG. 10 provides a view of the horizontal portion 210 of the bracketextrusion 206 showing the three mounting slots 246. The brush mountingchannel 214 is visible in phantom lines. FIG. 11 shows a front view ofthe vertical portion 212 of mounting bracket 206. This view also showsthe location of the elongated brush mounting channel 214 in phantomlines.

FIG. 12 is a profile view drawing of mounting bracket 206 and brush 208.In particular, FIG. 12 shows brush 208 engaged with the brush mountingchannel 214 formed into mounting bracket extrusion 206.

FIG. 13 is a section view drawing of brush 208. The elongated brushembodiment is fabricated using a row of nylon bristles 218 that arewrapped about a wire spindle 274. Bristles 218 are held in place onspindle 274 using a formed spine 216 that is crimped about spindle 274.In this illustrative embodiment, spine 216 is formed from aluminum.However, other metal and non-metal materials can be used. The length ofbristles 218 is selected to provide adequate engagement with objects orproducts to be displayed in light of the incremental shelf spacing ofthe shelving system to which it is applied.

FIG. 14 illustrates a front view of a portion of display fixture 100 asmounted to an underside of a shelf 300 and engaged with objects orproducts 304, such as bound media, which are being supported by shelf302. Objects or products 304 are placed on shelf 302 and slid toward theback of shelf 302. As bound media 304 are being slid to the back, aportion or top of the objects or products 304 engage with bristles 118of brush 108. This engagement causes the bristles 118 in the area wherethe objects or products 304 contact the bristles to separate and fan oneither side of the portion of the bound media 304 that engages bristles118. In this way, while most bristles 118 remain depending downwardlyand oriented substantially normal to shelf 300, the bristles 118 thatengage with bound media 304 are oriented in directions that are otherthan substantially normal to shelf 300.

FIG. 15A illustrates a perspective view of mounting display fixture 100to an underside 403 of a shelf 400 on a freestanding shelf system orgondola display unit 401. FIG. 15B illustrates an enlarged perspectiveview of a portion of FIG. 15A. More specifically, FIG. 15B illustrates afront corner of freestanding shelf system or gondola display unit 401.Gondola display unit 401 includes a back wall 450, a pair of uprights451 and 452 that are slotted, a base 453 with an integrated base deck454 and a plurality of shelves 456 a, 456 b, 456 c and 456 d placed atincremental heights along the slotted uprights 451 and 452. Althoughdisplay fixture 100 can be mounted to the underside of any or all of theplurality of shelves 456 of gondola display unit 401, display fixture100 is illustrated in FIG. 15A and 15B as being mounted to underside 403of upper shelf 456 a on gondola display unit 401.

Each shelf 456 and more specifically the upper shelf 456 a includes atleast one row of a plurality of apertures or perforated holes 458 thatthat are located across shelf 456 a and formed therethrough. Suchperforations are common in retail, commercial and industrial shelvingsystems. In addition, each shelf 456 a, 456 b, 456 c and 456 d includesa front edge that has a price label channel 460. Price label channel 460is configured to receive price labels or price label strip holders forholding price labels. The price labels are indicative of a price of thegoods that are to be placed on shelves 456. More specifically, the pricelabels are indicative of a price of the objects or products to bedisplayed, such as bound media 24 or 304, and are to be placed onshelves 456 a, 456 b, 456 c and 456 d.

Before stocking shelves 456 a with objects or products, display fixture100 is mounted to the undersides of shelves 456 or more specificallyunderside 403 of upper shelf 456 a. To do this, top surface 142 isplaced in contact with underside 403 of upper shelf 456 a such that thatbrush 108 of display fixture 100 is located towards the back wall 450 ofgondola display unit 401. Apertures 146 in shelf engaging portion 110are aligned with select apertures 458 in shelf 456 a.

Fasteners 462 are inserted through select apertures or perforated holes458 in shelf 456 a and through apertures 146 in shelf engaging portion110 to secure display fixture 100 to shelf 456 a. Apertures 146 providefor a degree of adjustment in the position of mounting bracket 106. Inone embodiment and as illustrated in FIG. 15B, fasteners 462 are screwshaving wing nuts. The steps for mounting display fixture 100 asdescribed in this paragraph can be repeated for each shelf 456 a, 456 b,456 c and 456 d on gondola display unit 401 so that all shelves ongondola display unit 401 except for upper shelf 456 a can receiveobjects or products that will stand in an upward orientation fordisplay. After all display fixtures 100 are mounted, the objects orproducts can be placed on each shelf 456 a, 456 b, 456 c and 456 d. Uponplacing the objects or products, a portion of bristles will engage withthe tops of the objects or products to hold the objects or products inan upward direction.

FIG. 16 illustrates a perspective view of mounting display fixture orbrush assembly 100 to an underside of shelf 456 b on freestanding shelfsystem or gondola display unit 401. Display fixture or brush assembly100 is fastened to the underside of upper shelf 456 b using threadedfasteners 462 that engage with holes 458 perforated through the shelfmaterial. A display fixture or brush assembly 100 is applied to eachupper shelf 456 a, 456 b, 456 c and 456 d. As used herein, an “upper”shelf is one that has another shelf below it, and a “lower” shelf is onethat has another shelf above it. Thusly, it can be appreciated that theshelves function cooperatively, and that base deck 454 would never be anupper shelf, and top shelf 456 a would never be a lower shelf.

In FIG. 16, each of shelves 456 a, 456 b, 456 c and 456 d have a displayfixture or brush assembly 100 attached to its lower surface or undersideadjacent the front of the shelf. Exemplary objects or products, such as3-ring binders 404 rest on shelf 456 d. Shelf 456 c has a brush 108disposed below its lower surface, which acts to engage the upper edge ofeach binder 404. As the binders 404 are pushed onto shelf 456 d, theupper edge of the sidewalls of the binders spread the bristles of brush208 apart to pass therethrough. Once in place, bristles 118 resist thebinders 404 from tipping side-to-side and maintain the binder 404 in asubstantially vertical orientation. Since brush 108 is disposed acrosssubstantially the entire width of the shelves, binders 404 can beinserted at any location along the width of the shelf and still benefitfrom the lateral support. In addition, it does not matter what the widthis of each object or product. In this example, the binders 404 can beone-inch, two-inch, three-inch or a mixture thereof and brush 108 wouldstill function to support the objects or products.

A method of displaying objects or products is described below withreference to display fixture 100, however, the method can also apply todisplay fixture 200. Display fixture 100 is provided that includes brush108 having elongated spine 116 that is slid into brush support portion114 of base 106. To slide elongated spine 116 into brush support portion114, the right side or the left side of elongated spine 116 is insertedinto either the right side of the left side of brush support portion114. More specifically and as illustrated in FIGS. 2-4 and 7-8, the endsof brush support portion 114 are temporarily open. In this way,elongated spine 116 can be inserted into and pulled through the channeluntil the right side and the left side of the elongated spine 116 are inalignment with the right side and the left side of brush support portion114.

Shelf engaging portion 110 of base 106 is mounted to an underside of ashelf as described in detail above. The objects or products, such asobjects 204, 304 or 404, are placed on a second shelf located directlybelow the first shelf by engaging distal ends 119 of the plurality offlexible bristles 118 with a top of the objects or products. In thisway, each display fixture 100 that is mounted to the underside of aselect shelf is actually for use with objects or products that are to beplaced on the shelf directly below the select shelf. In addition,placing objects or products on a second shelf means that a bottom of theobjects or products is in contact with the second shelf and the top ofthe objects or products is engaged with distal ends 119 of the bristles118.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above.Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed asexample forms of implementing the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A display fixture for displaying an objectcomprising: a base having a shelf engaging portion that mounts to anunderside of a shelf and a brush support portion; and a brush having anelongated spine that is received by the brush support portion and aplurality of flexible bristles that depend downwardly from the spine,wherein the plurality of flexible bristles include distal ends that arefree from contacting the base; and wherein when the flexible bristlesare not engaged with the object the flexible bristles are orientedsubstantially normal to the shelf.
 2. The display fixture of claim 1,wherein the base further comprises a downward depending portion thatconnects the shelf engaging portion with the brush support portion, thedownward depending portion being substantially normal to the shelfengaging portion.
 3. The display fixture of claim 2, wherein the brushsupport portion comprises a channel including an upper wall, a frontwall, a rear wall that is in alignment with and connected to thedownward depending portion of the base and a lower wall, the lower wallhaving an opening that extends along a length of the channel.
 4. Thedisplay fixture of claim 3, wherein the opening in the bottom wallfurther comprises a dimension that is less than a dimension of thebottom wall.
 5. The display fixture of claim 3, wherein the elongatedspine of the brush is received by the channel and the bristles of thebrush depend downwardly from the elongated spine through the opening inthe bottom wall of the channel.
 6. The display fixture of claim 1,wherein the shelf engaging portion comprises a plurality of aperturesfor receiving fasteners for mounting the shelf engaging portion to theunderside of the shelf and engaging with apertures in the shelf.
 7. Adisplay fixture comprising: a mount comprising: a substantiallyhorizontal section that couples to an underside of a shelf and at leasta portion of the horizontal section includes a length; a channel havingthe same length as the length of a portion of the horizontal section andincluding a bottom wall, the bottom wall having an opening that extendsalong the length of the channel and includes a dimension that is lessthan a dimension of the top wall; and a tool having a base that isreceived by the channel and a plurality of filaments that depend fromthe base through the opening in the channel in a substantially verticaldirection.
 8. The display fixture of claim 7, wherein the plurality offilaments comprise distal ends that are free from contacting the mount.9. The display fixture of claim 7, wherein the plurality of filamentsare configured to engage with product and wherein a portion of theplurality of filaments are oriented substantially normal to the shelfwhen not engaged with product.
 10. The display fixture of claim 7,wherein the mount further comprises a substantially vertical sectionthat connects the substantially horizontal section with the channel, thesubstantially vertical section being substantially normal to thesubstantially horizontal section.
 11. The display fixture of claim 7,wherein the substantially horizontal section comprises at least two ribsthat are spaced apart from each other and run lengths of thesubstantially horizontal section, the at least two ribs providing thehorizontal section with added strength.
 12. The display fixture of claim11, wherein the ribs form a concave depression along a top surface ofthe horizontal section and form a convex bump along a bottom surface ofthe horizontal section.
 13. The display fixture of 7, wherein thesubstantially horizontal section comprises a first length extendingalong a front of the substantially horizontal section and a secondlength extending along a back of the substantially horizontal sectionthat is substantially similar to the length of the channel, the firstlength being less than the second length.
 14. A method comprising:providing a display fixture that includes a brush having an elongatedspine that is slid into a brush support portion of a base, the brushincluding a plurality of flexible bristles that depend downwardly fromthe elongated spine and terminate at distal ends; mounting a shelfengaging portion of the base to an underside of a first shelf; andplacing at least one object on a second shelf located directly below thefirst shelf by engaging the distal ends of the plurality of flexiblebristles with a portion of the at least one object.
 15. The method ofclaim 14, wherein providing the display fixture that includes the brushhaving the elongated spine that is slid into the brush support portionof the base comprises providing the display fixture with a channel forsliding the elongated spine into, the channel including an opening in abottom wall through which the flexible bristles depend downwardly andthe distal ends of the flexible bristles are free from contacting thebase.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein mounting the shelf engagingportion of the base to the underside of the first shelf comprisesplacing a top surface of the shelf engaging portion in contact with theunderside of the first shelf.
 17. The method of claim 16, furthercomprising aligning apertures in the first shelf with apertures in theshelf engaging portion.
 18. The method of claim 17, further comprisinginserting fasteners through the apertures in the first shelf and throughthe apertures in the shelf engaging portion to fasten the shelf engagingportion to the underside of the first shelf.
 19. The method of claim 14,wherein placing the at least one object on the second shelf comprisesplacing binders on the second shelf.
 20. The method of claim 19, whereinplacing binders on the second shelf comprising placing binders on thesecond shelf so that bottoms of the binders are in contact with thesecond shelf and tops of the binders are engaged with at least thedistal ends of the bristles.